Bengaluru: Lifted by a rapturous home crowd at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here, India kept their nerve to defeat a competitive Lebanon side 79-69  in their Division B semi-final at the Fiba Women’s Asia Cup on Friday.

Lebanon edged the first quarter 20-16 thanks to Rebecca Akl’s (20 points) audacious long-range attempt from within her side of the court, with the buzzer going off as the ball was in the mid-air.

India attempted to put the stoppers on the Lebanese attacks, which relied chiefly on a sterling rebound game, resulting in as many as 14 points from second chances. Woman of the match Jeena Skaria (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) who got into her groove early-on alongside skipper and talisman Anitha Paul Durai (13 points), was a force on both sides of the court. The Kerala State Electricity Board forward shot with precision from the field and close-range, whilst tracking back to put off the marauding Lebanese forwards.

Japan players celebrate their victory over China.

With the game poised at 58-56 in the third quarter, the fourth quarter would prove conclusive. Lebanon’s Chirine El Charif (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Lama Moukaddem (16 points, 7 rebounds) were livewires with their penetrating runs and judicious use of space. But things took a turn for the worse as the side lost its discipline, conceding numerous free throws. Raspreet Sidhu (17 points) was only too happy to accept these, as the Indian eves went on a nine-point scoring streak.

The Lebanese matched India point for point until the final five minutes when they lost their tempers to grant India passage to the division final, where they will meet a dangerous Kazakhstan side on Saturday.

Japan, Australia in grudge final

With World Cup qualification already in the bag for the four Division A semi-finalists, it was only a matter of deciding which teams would face off for the title.

Australia were up first against South Korea and looked comfortable all the way in an 81-64 win for the Opals. Naturalised forward Kelsey Griffin was the star of the show, bagging 16 points.

The tournament final will see the Opals play the wholly entertaining Japan in a repeat of their group stage clash after the Akatsuki Five pipped a much-fancied Chinese team 74-71 in an absolute nail-biter. Manami Fujioka took on the scoring mantle and played the game of her life to help the defending champions to a third consecutive Asian final. 

The first three quarters could barely separate the sides, reading 55-54 in China’s favour. China used the immense stature of powerful shooting forward Shao Ting (16 points), power forward Song Gao (13 points) and 18-year-old prodigy Yueri Li (13 points)  to nail the points. Point guard Fujioka (19 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds) led the attack, playing a combined role of ball carrier, playmaker and shooter and left the opposition defence befuddled with her agility and trickery.

The fourth quarter came along, and China pulled out a 9 point lead (67-58) with five minutes to go. The Red Dragons looked fatigued and fizzled out in the final minutes, as Yuki Miyazawa, captain Maki Takada and Moeka Nagaoka took most of their chances, be it on free throws or lightning-quick breaks to steal the win. 

Results: Division A: Semi-finals: Australia 81 (Kelsey Griffin 16, Alanna Smith 12, Lauren Mansfield 10, Sara Blicavs 10) bt South Korea 64 (Sungyoung Sim 14, Leeseul Kang 14, Hui Lim Lung 12); China 71 (Shao Ting 16, Song Gao 13, Li Yueru 13) lt to Japan 74 (Manami Fujioka 19, Yuki Miyazawa 16, Moeko Nagaoka 14, Maki Takada 13) Division B: Semi-finals: Kazakhstan 77 (Zalina Kurazova 24, Nadezhda Kondrakova 18) bt Uzbekistan 51 (Anastasiya Sevastyanova 19, Irina Averyanova 13, Aliya Samatova 10) Classification (5-8): Sri Lanka 64 (Sulochana Iddamalgoda 12, Imesha Dapana Durage 10) lt to Fiji 65 (Miliakere Bulou Koyamainavure 22, Bitila Sigani Tawake 11, Tiyana Anne Kainamoli 10); India 79 (P.S. Jeena 20, Raspreet Sidhu 17, Anitha Paul Durai 13) bt Lebanon 69 (Akl Rebecca 20, Charif Chirine 17, M. Lama 16).